Mount Rushmore of Guitarists

stickyfiddle

Following from the sad news about EVH there's been a few mentions of the "Mount Rushmore of guitar", so here we are. Who should be on it? Those who contributed something fundamental and changed the game, so to speak.

Ideally 4 or 5, but open to maybe 8 if we can find a big enough mountain. Any more and it'll start getting silly.

fretfinder

Clapton, Beck, Page, Hendrix. I’m revealing my age and tastes there, but imo they are four giants of guitar who were in at the start, more or less, of the rock music explosion.

Jonathangus

I'm assuming Hendrix and EVH are a shoe-in.

Les Paul, possibly?  Tony Iommi?

Sassafras

Bert Weedon.
He set thousands on the course of buying guitars and reselling them at a loss.

stickyfiddle

Jonathangus said:

I'm assuming Hendrix and EVH are a shoe-in.

Les Paul, possibly?  Tony Iommi?

They were my initial thoughts but I'm supposed to be at work after 10 days off so didn't finalise my brain yet! 

After those it was probably Hank Marvin, Robert Johnson and Clapton that would come next. Probably Chet Atkins but I must admit not knowing enough of his music and influence to understand his place well enough.

Then more controversially I'd lean towards the Edge and Tom Morello for pushing boundaries - but I'm well aware many won't like that  

Danny1969

Hank Marvin, He was the first pop star guitarist and made thousands of people want to play. 

 Hendrix
 Van Halen

Flanging_Fred

Segovia
Django Reinhardt
Robert Johnson
Hendrix
VH

scrumhalf

This has to be a localised thing, Hank and Bert Weedon mean very little in the States and even less elsewhere.

The replacement of the lions in Trafalgar Square might be more appropriate. Maybe with a gigantic Marshall stack replacing Nelson's Column. 

DB1

Charlie Christian, I reckon, who really pioneered the guitar as a solo instrument, and much of the music that came from him shaped other influential players - T-Bone Walker, BB King and many more.

english_bob

Limiting mine to electric guitar on purpose.

Charlie Christian

George Harrison

Jimi Hendrix

Eddie Van Halen

Three innovators, one popularizer. Not that they weren't all a bit of both...

Stuckfast

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kekuku

guitars4you

I think part of it is that can they be accounted for in a simple phrase of how they played, their style and that 'phrase' has become infamous and associated with them - Not sure if I'm explaining it well - But the examples below speak for them selves

Wes Montgomery - The octave
Hendrix - That chord
Niles Rodgers - The Chic rhythm style
Merle Travis - Travis Picking
Hank Marvin - The clean delay + vibrato
EVH - Dive bombing and tapping 
The Edge - That rhythmic delay
J Page - power chord riffs
C Berry - for J B Goode
Les Paul - not only for the guitar, but that multi track recording playing back in the 50's

Many many other great players - many better players than above - But have they brought that specific phrase/style to the table

Kilgore

Chuck Berry 

Alex2678

Chuck Berry, Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Slash, Eddie Van Halen
Not saying they’re the best or even my favourites, I’m not much of a Slash or EVH fan, but I’d say those are the cornerstones

Sassafras

Scottie Moore was the one that made me want to pick up guitar in the first place, long before I started listening to dead blues musicians.

EricTheWeary

I know this will eventually become a list of everyone who ever picked up a guitar but I'd always say T Bone Walker.
Biggest influence on BB King, Freddie King, Albert King, Ike Turner ( who gave us the first rock-'n'-roll record, discovered BB King, discovered Tina Turner and yes was a shmuck), Chuck Berry and them on the Rolling Stones, early Beatles, Clapton ( and therefore Van Halen), some of the showmanship Hendrix had was taken directly from T Bone. 
T Bone had been influenced by Charlie Christian, Reinhardt and old school blues players but he ( indirectly at least) effectively gave us electric blues, the British invasion bands and the sixties blues boom which also begat us heavy rock,etc, etc. 

Grumpyrocker

Iommi has to be on there. 

Danny1969

I forgot the Edge, he basically invented a new way to play the guitar and as far as I'm concerned he's as entitled to his use of delay as much as Hendrix was entitled to his use of fuzz and wah  .... definitely one of the game changers in the way the guitar is played  

guitars4you

Danny1969 said:

I forgot the Edge, he basically invented a new way to play the guitar and as far as I'm concerned he's as entitled to his use of delay as much as Hendrix was entitled to his use of fuzz and wah  .... definitely one of the game changers in the way the guitar is played  

That for me is what we would should be looking at - Many other great players and might influential to others - Even S Jones (Sex Pistols), Jack White and the likes are mighty influential to others - But to me to be on Mount Rushmore it is not just about the number of album sales, grammy's  and how influential they have been - It is about what was new that you brought to the table - I'm not sure EC, Slash Iommi fit in that bill

It is almost as though you are in a studio - Recording a single and the producers say's I want you to play a solo in the style of : -  EVH, Chuck Berry, Hank Marvin, Edge, Merle Travis, etc and you instantly know what is required - Their name is the style 

maltingsaudio

And On the stairs leading up to the mountain

Leo Fender
Jim Marshall
Ted Mc Carty
Les Paul

guitars4you

I'm wondering if Dick Dale can join this club - again it is the 'style/sound'

Then what about R Blackmore - The Paganini/violin/classical style